ENMWUA Member Community Profiles:

Located along one of the most heavily trafficked sections of rail in the United States, the City of Clovis, is a family-friendly city rich in rock and roll history! More than 45,000 people call Clovis and Curry County home and this thriving city serves as a regional hub to more than 120,000 others. There’s something for everyone – from great shopping and food, to cultural landmarks and events, to fabulous educational opportunities – and we’ve got it all. Clovis is a thriving crossroads of agriculture, energy and commerce, as well as the processing point for the agriculture and cattle in Curry County, and is home to the world’s largest cheese factory. Clovis is the county seat of Curry County.

The City of Portales is the biggest city in Roosevelt County with a population of 19,536. Portales is the world’s premier producer of Valencia peanuts. In addition, Portales has a large dairy and ranching industry and is home to New Mexico’s largest regional university, Eastern New Mexico University. The dairy industry remains healthy in Roosevelt County along with truck transport to move the commodity to local processing plants such as Dairy Farmers of America located at the Portales Industrial Park. Farming and ranching are a mainstay that contributes to the county’s economy.  Renewable energy in the form of wind turbines has a strong presence in Roosevelt County.  Small business is a strong economic driver and entrepreneurship is healthy in the community. 

The Town of Texico, population 1,130, is located in eastern Curry County along U.S. Highway 60/70/84 and the Texas border. The oldest town in Curry County, also boasts one of the oldest schools in the county. Texico is located on the Texas-New Mexico state line, eight miles east of Clovis, New Mexico. Texico served as the gateway to New Mexico even before there was a house in Clovis. Although the town had many tough characters during its early days, it was still able to support a good school. By 1910 it boasted a three-teacher school, consisting of eight elementary and three high school grade Texico is located along a busy stretch of rail that sees 85 to 100 freight trains a day. Texico has a strong farming and dairy business and is home to New Mexico’s first commercial wind farm. 

Cannon Air Force Base was first activated in 1943 and is located just west of Clovis and north of Portales. Cannon is home to approximately 4,500 active duty airmen. The host unit at Cannon is the The 27th Special Operations Wing (27 SOW), which activated on 1 October 2007, and is assigned to the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). The 27 SOW plans and executes specialized and contingency operations using advanced aircraft, tactics and air refueling techniques to infiltrate, exfiltrate and resupply special operations forces (SOF) and provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and close air support in support of SOF operations. The base houses a population of 2,245 and is a major economic driver of the Clovis/Portales area and eastern New Mexico.

The Town of Elida, population 183, is located in southeastern Roosevelt County. The late Portales philanthropist Addie Peed Swearingen grew up in Elida and lived on a ranch there from 1960-1979. Another notable Elida native is former Texas Tech Red Raiders baseball coach Larry Hays.